Yearling lighting setup

[Tinytortmama]

Hi friends!

Our Sulcata is getting so big . she is almost 700grams and we are going to remove the greenhouse from around her enclosure. We currently have a CHL, an Arcadia T12, a flood bulb and another one that I can’t remember.

Does she still need all of these?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Cute tortoise!🥰 I’m going to tag @Tom he should be able to answer you😊

 

[wellington]

She should be in a closed chamber until around 3 years old or big enough to live outside, which is around 10 inches.

 

[Tom]

Hi friends!

Our Sulcata is getting so big . she is almost 700grams and we are going to remove the greenhouse from around her enclosure. We currently have a CHL, an Arcadia T12, a flood bulb and another one that I can’t remember.

Does she still need all of these?

Your tortoise is looking great. It looks so good because you've been housing and heating it correctly. We use the greenhouses to hold in the heat and humidity. This helps the tortoise thrive and grow smoothly. Your tortoise still has A LOT of growing to do and it still needs the high humidity indoor enclosure for as long as you can provide it. Once the tortoise reaches about 10 inches in length, probably next Spring, it will be ready to go live outside full time with a heated shelter. Until that time it would be better to keep it in the same stable humid conditions that have served you so well for all this time.

CHL? Do you mean CHE, as in ceramic heating element? You will still need to maintain a warm ambient temperature day and night, so yes, the CHE set on its thermostat is still needed. Without the tent, most of the heat generated will go up and into the room though.

Arcadia T12? Do you mean Arcadia T5 12% HO tube? If yes, you can get by with out that if the tortoise is outside in a safe enclosure getting access to sun a few times per week. When fall returns with its cold weather and the tortoise is stuck inside every day, you will need the indoor UV.

The flood bulb is necessary to give the tortoise a basking area where it can warm up above ambient temperatures. As your tortoise grows be sure to check the temperature under the bulb at tortoise shell height to make sure you don't damage the carapace. Keep ambient temperatures high during the day to discourage too much basking. Colder ambient temps, like what would happen if you remove the tent, will cause the tortoise to sit under thereat lamp all day and dry out the growing carapace. This would ruin all your hard work up to this point. Lay a digital thermometer on its back on top of a brick or a rock that is similar in height to your tortoise. Let the thermometer cook like that format least an hour. Adjust the height of the fixture to keep that temperature around 95-100. You can also use a lower wattage bulb if needed. That is what I do in the summer weather.

The green house tent was there for a good reason. That reason has not gone away.